urn:nasa:pds:context:facility:laboratory.em3 1.1 1.25.0.0 Product_Context 2026-02-20 1.1 Added microindenter instrument; updated IM 2025-10-23 1.0 Initial export from OLAF urn:nasa:pds:context:instrument:em3.nanoindenter facility_to_instrument urn:nasa:pds:context:instrument:em3.ptf_100_friability_tester facility_to_instrument urn:nasa:pds:context:instrument:em3.microindenter facility_to_instrument Laboratory

Bulldog Hall 501 E Orange St. Tempe, AZ 85287

USA The Nano- and Micro-Mechanical Testing Lab, managed by Professor Christian Hoover, is equipped with advanced instrumentation for probing the mechanical behavior of materials across scales. The lab houses both micro- and nano-indenter systems, enabling precise indentation measurements on materials such as meteorites, glass, cement paste, and a wide range of other natural and synthetic substances. These tools allow quantitative determination of hardness, modulus, and deformation behavior by analyzing a material’s response to a controlled force applied through an indenter of known geometry. In addition to indentation testing, the lab is also equipped with a PTF-100 Friability Tester, which simulates low-energy mechanical impacts and abrasion through controlled tumbling. This instrument enables the study of material disaggregation and durability under repeated mechanical stress, bridging small-scale mechanical measurements with bulk friability and fragmentation behavior relevant to both planetary materials and engineering applications.